Sassounian: Let’s Kick Genocide Denialist Bill Shuster Out of Congress

I reported last week on the Armenian-American community’s success in securing the cancellation of Los Angeles City’s $845,000 contract with the Gephardt Group, for lobbying on behalf of Turkey against adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by Congress.

I expressed the hope that Armenians would continue their efforts to have the remaining 200 clients of the Gephardt Group terminate their contracts, so that Mr. Gephardt would pay a steep price for his denialist lobbying.

Energized by their major victory in Los Angeles, Armenian Americans should now expand their political activism to make an example of Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who has written an outrageous letter to members of Congress asking them not to support the pending Armenian Genocide resolution.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent by Shuster to all 435 House members last month, he shamelessly urged them “to refrain from cosponsoring a resolution taking sides in a historical dispute concerning events which occurred a hundred years ago on the other side of the world.” I wonder how the Congressman feels about the Holocaust that also took place “on the other side of the world” more than 60 years ago!

In his brazen letter, Shuster casts doubt on the veracity of the Armenian Genocide, by alleging that there are “two competing narratives about what happened during the First World War to Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire.” In his twisted logic, the Congressman claims that “the events of 1915…did not constitute genocide,” because “over two million Ottoman Kurds, Arabs, and Muslims…also suffered in this conflict.” His reference to the suffering of “over two million Ottoman Kurds” during World War I is the latest lie scripted by one of the many lobbying firms working for the Turkish government.

The Pennsylvania Congressman also falsely claims that the Armenian Genocide resolution “would alienate one of our last allies in the region [Turkey] who is working hand in hand with U.S. soldiers and our allies to combat ISIS.” Shuster must have been hiding in a cave for the last couple of years not to have known that this “important NATO ally” has orchestrated the infiltration of thousands of ISIS terrorists into Syria and supplied them with arms, ammunition, and logistics.

The Congressman ridiculously alleges that “adopting this [Armenian] resolution would be cataclysmic and undermine U.S. interests.” If Turkey is such a good U.S. ally, why would it want to undermine America’s interests? Would passing a resolution condemning the Holocaust result in Germany—pour other NATO ally—undermining U.S. interests in Europe?

Shuster ends his letter by calling the mass murder of 1.5 million Armenians a mere “incident,” urging his colleagues “not [to] take sides in a battle to reinterpret history” and “to think twice before signing on to legislation that could cause significant damage to our relations in the region.” No wonder, the incongruously named “Turkish Institute for Progress” immediately issued a statement applauding the Congressman’s letter denying the Armenian Genocide.

The Turkish Sabah newspaper reported on Feb. 27 that two House members from New York, Democrat Yvette Clarke and Republican Lee Zeldin, have also announced their opposition to the Armenian Genocide resolution. It is noteworthy that the Armenian National Committee of America gave an F- grade to Shuster, and a C- to Clark. Zeldin has not yet been graded by the ANCA, as this is his first term in office.

Armenian Americans have a year and a half until the next congressional elections to develop an effective plan to make an example of one or more of these three genocide deniers in Congress. If at least one of them is defeated, other members would think twice before playing the immoral game of genocide denialism.

Not surprisingly, Shuster, Clarke, and Zeldin are 3 of the 130 members of the Congressional Turkey Caucus. In addition, Shuster is the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus. After one of these three unprincipled politicians is kicked out of Congress, the Armenian community should then devise a strategy to go after all 130 members of the Turkey Caucus, down from its peak of 157 members in 2012. Applying such pressure would cause more of them to leave the Turkey Caucus, and make others reluctant to join, once they realize that they too would be targeted for defeat.

Zero tolerance for genocide denialists in Congress!

Harut Sassounian

Harut Sassounian

California Courier Editor
Harut Sassounian is the publisher of The California Courier, a weekly newspaper based in Glendale, Calif. He is the president of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization that has donated to Armenia and Artsakh one billion dollars of humanitarian aid, mostly medicines, since 1989 (including its predecessor, the United Armenian Fund). He has been decorated by the presidents of Armenia and Artsakh and the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches. He is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

5 Comments

  1. I just sent a multi-page memo (noted on my website under paper) to Rep Shuster, bringing him up to speed on the Armenian Genocide, asking him to urge his fellow congressmen to recognize the Genocide.
    I am outside of his district , so in all honesty, I had to “fudge” a permanent address & zip code in order to do it.

    Perhaps if everyone reading this did the same, he would get the message ?

    I am doing my part, are you doing your ?

    Greg Serian

  2. I agree with Harut Sassounian. However, our efforts should be focused on Congressional Districts, where our vote and our friends’ vote can have an impact and influence on the election results, obviously led and guided by the ANCA.
    It is correct that Shuster, Clarke and Zeldin are members of the Congressional Turkey Caucus. Sadly there are other Republicans and Democrats that are members, who have succumbed to the Turkish lobby.
    Of the three mentioned in this article, the one that we can possibly vote out of office is Yvette Clarke. She is the Representative from the 9th Congressional District of New York, which primarily covers central Brooklyn, where we should have a reasonably strong base of Armenian-American voters and we can wage a meaningful campaign to defeat her.
    It is obvious that she has been bought, as of one her major campaign contributor was the ” Turkish Coalition of New Jersey”.
    Bill Shuster is the Representative of the 9th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. His district is west-central Pennsylvania, a very conservative Republican District, where I doubt there is a meaningful Armenian population.
    Lee Zeldin, who is the only Jewish Republican Representative in the House. Disappointing that a Jew denies the Genocide, but probably he is being influenced by the ADL. He is the 1st Congressional District which is the eastern side of Long Island. I doubt that there are many Armenian Americans in that area.
    As we are fast approaching April 24, there will be genocide denialists coming out of the woods. These are people who have no integrity, no moral compass, and their souls have been sold for money. To hell with them.
    Vart Adjemian

  3. “Never attribute to malice, that which can be adequately explained by stupidity” These are ignorant people. Any little reading (my grandmother’s book) would show them the systematic removal of Armenianstheir homes, businesses, and land, and their brutal sadistic mass murders. there are many quotes showing the eradication of the entire Armenian population was the goal of the turkish government.

  4. I have to admit that I do not know much about elections. But I believe even in the districts where there are no Armenian presence we can focus on one or two of these representatives and create serious problems for them. We need to keep in mind that this kind of politicians align themselves with Turks simply because they are paid by the Turkish lobby, they don’t have a strong Turkish constituency in their districts. It will be impossible to spend millions of dollars on each one of them supporting their rivals but we can do that for one or two who are more vulnerable and that will send a strong message to the rest, that they can be the next. The reason why this people do it is because they think the Armenian community is unable to influence the elections in their district, if we prove the opposite in just one or two of these cases, then it will be extremely hard for the Turkish lobby to buy other representatives in congress. We just need to spend money. I for one wouldn’t mind contributing to this kind of cause. We need to declare a real war against one of two. Making websites which exposes their ties with the Turkish lobby and the money they receive, writing to their local newspapers, even running ads during election seasons and simply explaining to the voters that their representative is denying a genocide committed by a Muslim government against its Christian minority for money. Just imagine ads showing president Reagan’s quote about the Armenian Genocide followed by the denailist nonsense uttered by this guy in local newspapers!

  5. I do not agree with Linda. Sadly these denialists are neither stupid nor ignorant. These people have been successful in winning the primaries of their parties, then have been elected to the US Congress by their districts and have a vote in various important sub-committees . They have been corrupted by the Turkish lobby , the flow of money and the argument that Turkey is an important US ally (which on many occasions has proven to be inaccurate) and member of NATO.
    Simply to call them ignorant will be foolhardy and shorsighted. We have to accept that Turkey has done a successful lobbying job with the military establishment and conservative hawks.
    We should as Harut Sassounian says, be politically organized to defeat them in the next election. But to do that successfully, we have to pick our battles and do not waste our efforts in districts where we cannot have any influence or impact.
    That is why I suggested Yvette Clark.
    Vart Adjemian

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